RWBY: Remnant Souls Vignettes
by Mr.J316
Summary: The damned souls of Dragon Ball are accidentally given a second chance on Remnant. Will they use this new lease on life to turn over a new leaf or will they backslide into their villainous ways. Note: These chapters spotlight an individual member of a team, but none of these teams exist in the same continuity. These stories will be taking place during the events of Volumes 1-3.
1. Preface & Table of Contents

RWBY REMNANT SOULS

Vignettes

* * *

Preface

Which do you prefer? A hero falling from grace and becoming that which they fought so long to abolish, or a villain seeking redemption for their life of crime? For me, witnessing a villain's struggle to become better than they were before is incredibly satisfying. Seeing a character come to grips with the gravitas of their actions and actively working to stay on the straight and narrow is something I think anyone can relate too. We're not perfect beings who live without mistakes or regrets, and seeing another work to overcome their flaws can be encouraging to audiences of all kinds.

To me, the villains of Dragon Ball are some of the best, with each one sticking in my mind for one reason or another. However, aside from the transformations, martial arts, and wish-granting spheres that are the mainstays of the series, another prominent aspect of Dragon Ball is the villain redeeming themselves. The most famous instances being Piccolo, Vegeta, Tien Shinhan, Majin Buu, and even dear old Yamcha. Even if a redemption did not happen within the canon story, fans have enjoyed speculating what would happen if one villain or another turned to the side of the angels. I believe a redemption arc could be interesting for any of the scoundrels who have faced off with Goku, with a few glaring exceptions. In essence, it is these thoughts that ignited this idea in my mind and set this story into motion.

As for the role RWBY played in the development of this tale, it's actually a bit of an unusual story. Two years ago, while I was lounging in my dorm room, I decided to play a game to pass the time. Using the RWBY team acronyms as a base, and Dragon Ball villains as the team members, I decided to see what kind of names I could come up with. After creating a list with over 50 villains on it, I started developing teams using a random number generator. The first batch I experimented with proved to be a bit challenging to work with, but it did birth my first RWBY style team, KNNG. Once my first team was established, my mind just kept pumping out new teams that continued to provide sufficient entertainment for that afternoon. At first, I was just content to leave the project as it was, but then I began to think about how I could tell actually tell a story using these characters. As a racked my imagination for an avenue through which I could realize this story, another reformed Dragon Ball villain suddenly popped into my head. Kid Buu, unlike Vegeta or Piccolo, was indirectly redeemed upon his rebirth into the young warrior, Uub. With Buu's reincarnation in mind, I set to work creating new identities for each villain to be reborn into. However, I soon ran into a problem I did not take into account when I began building these teams. I could not decide which one I wanted to make put in the starring role! If I had to choose one, I'd have to discard the others, whom I all loved dearly. However, it was thanks to my indecisiveness that the idea for this series sprung from.

Instead of choosing one and throwing the rest away, I decided to take each team for a test run. This would enable me to see how each team plays off of each other and, equally significant, the guys and gals of RWBY. It is my sincere hope to craft some interesting, meaningful, and hilarious interactions between these reincarnated rascals and the young huntresses and huntsman of Remnant. However, with a total of ten teams created, it would be a bit much for me to cram them all into one series. **Thankfully, I've taken some time to whittle down the number of teams to a more manageable six.** I truly want anyone who reads these short stories to have as much fun with these characters as I am. Thank you so much for checking this out and I hope you enjoy RWBY: Remnant Souls!

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Table Of Contents

 **Team KNNG (King):**

1\. Team KNNG (Noland)

2\. Team KNNG (Gus)

3\. Team KNNG (Nigel)

4\. Team KNNG (Kalt)

 **Team PWRS (Powers):**

1\. Team PWRS (S)

2\. Team PWRS (W)

3\. Team PWRS (R)

4\. Team PWRS (P)

 **Team FNDR (Fender):**

1\. Team FNDR (R)

2\. Team FNDR (D)

3\. Team FNDR (N)

4\. Team FNDR (F)

 **Team BMBD (Bombard):**

1\. Team BMBD (B)

2\. Team BMBD (D)

3\. Team BMBD (M)

4\. Team BMBD (B)

 **Team RTST (Artist):**

1\. Team RTST (S)

2\. Team RTST (T)

3\. Team RTST (Th)

4\. Team RTST (R)

 **Team RCKR (Rocker):**

1\. Team RCKR (R)

2\. Team RCKR (K)

3\. Team RCKR (C)

4\. Team RCKR (R)

* * *

Note: I will be updating the Table of Contents when I move onto the next team, revealing the given name of the character I will be focusing on for said chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters presented in this series


	2. Team KNNG (Noland)

While the other students watched the fight below with great interest, Team KNNG looked upon the match between Lie Ren & Russel Thrush with discontent, boredom, and impatience. Ren's martial arts and weapons prowess were nothing short of impressive to the average huntsman, but they were far beyond such standards. At full strength, they could overpower and outspeed any huntsman, student or professional, that crossed their path. It was the reason Professor Goodwitch's combat course was held in such low regard by Team KNNG, they could never go all out in a fight. If they did, their cover would be blown almost immediately, and they weren't keen on alerting anyone in Otherworld about their presence by causing a mass panic. So, they made an effort to go unnoticed and run out the clock until it was time to move on to their next class.

As Lie expertly dodged Russel's wild sword swings, Noland squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose while his monkey tail twitched in irritation. After letting out a sigh, he asked, "How much longer?" Out of all of them, Team KNNG's muscle & resident faunus despised this class the most. The pitiful excuse for combat he had to witness in this class made even the greenest of low-class Saiyan warriors look like veterans. As a seasoned mid class warrior who fought in the Saiyan/Tuffle War, the lack of power these huntsmen displayed in these matches frustrated him to no end.

"20 minutes exactly." Nigel, Noland's teammate, responded in his usual monotone.

"Well, seeing how this fight is going, there'll probably be time for one more match before class lets out" grumbled Nigel's partner, Gus.

"While that may be the case, please try to keep your mouth's shut for the duration of the class. I don't need your grating voices adding to all this annoyance," commanded Team KNNG's leader, Kalt. Noland shot a glare at his partner, clenching his fist in anger. Although the two were expected to be teammates, Kalt and Noland remained the bitter rivals they had always been. While their history spanned back into their past lives as King Cold and Nappa, the two's never-ending need to gain dominance over the other began shortly after their memories were reawakened during their childhood. This made teamwork more difficult than it already was, as Kalt and Noland would either separate to fight Grimm on their own or get into one of their infamous arguments.

Before Noland could retort, a buzzer blared in his ears, indicating that the match below had been decided. Team KNNG looked down to the arena below, and sure enough, saw Russel Thrush face down on the floor, his aura obviously depleted.

"That concludes the match." Professor Goodwitch announced. As she made her way over, she gave her scroll a quick look over, scanning the notes she had taken during the fight.

"Well done Ren," said Goodwitch, commending the young huntsman. "That was an impressive display. Just be sure to keep practicing, we wouldn't want your skills to slide just before the Vytal Festival."

"Thank you, Professor, I will," Ren replied. Goodwitch then turned his attention to Russel, who finally picked himself up off the ground.

"Mr. Thrush," Goodwitch began, "we've been over this before. If you let your frustration cloud your mind during battle, you will leave yourself open to retaliation. If you had remained calm, you might have fared better in this fight."

Goodwitch's words were harsh but true, and although Russel was frustrated by her comments, he knew better than to argue with her.

"Got it," Russel responded, and then made his way back up to the stands behind Ren. After checking the time on her scroll, Goodwitch then turned her attention back to the students above her.

"Alright, we have time for one more match before class lets out. Any volunteers?" Almost immediately, Cardin Winchester's hand shot up, no doubt wanting to make up for his teammate's humiliating defeat. While she wasn't exactly fond of Cardin, or Team CRDL in general, if they wished to participate in a match, she would not stop them.

"Alright, Mr. Winchester, let's find you an opponent." While Cardin was certainly one of the stronger first years students, there was no shortage of people who wanted to take him down a peg. The members of both Team RWBY or JNPR were the first to come to her mind. However, before she or any other student got the chance, Cardin spoke up.

"Actually, Prof," Cardin began. He then pointed his mace towards a certain oblivious individual in the stands. "I want to fight him." Gus had turned his attention towards Cardin, trying to see who he was pointing to. Suddenly, his face jolted in surprise and then turned to his teammate.

"Uh, Noland" he began nervously.

"What?" Noland angrily said. He saw Gus was pointing over his shoulder, and so, begrudgingly, decided to turn and see what his teammate was trying to point out. What he saw surprised him. Cardin Winchester was pointing his mace right at him.

"Yeah, I'm calling you out monkey" Cardin announced in a maliciously cocky tone. Glynda, though initially surprised by Cardin's choice, saw right through his plan. In an effort to assert his team's dominance, he planned on beating one of the largest students in his class. While it seemed more akin to something one would see in prison than an academy, she honestly expected this kind of behavior from the resident bully.

On the other hand, this was also a chance to have at least one of Team KNNG's members actually participate in her class. She had given the four boys plenty of time to volunteer for matches, but by now her patience ran thin. She would have been forced to put her foot down, but thankfully Cardin's decision provided another avenue for which she could include them.

"Very well, the match will be Cardin Winchester against Noland Planter. Gentlemen, if you would please make your way down to the arena." Glynda instructed the two. She saw Cardin began to make his way down, but then turned and saw that Noland was still sitting in his place, a look of shock and anger on his face. He almost looked insulted that Cardin had even challenged him.

"Mr. Planter, please join us," Glynda repeated. Cardin took notice of this as well and took this chance to belittle the faunus.

"What's a matter monkey? Afraid I'll send you home crying or did I just hurt your feelings?" Noland then abruptly rose from his seat, starring rage-filled daggers at Cardin.

"I'm coming," he said through gritted teeth. Noland then made his way towards the stairs to the arena as Cardin continued his descent.

* * *

As the two boys made their way down to the arena, both Team RWBY and Team JNPR became quite interested to see how this battle would unfold. None of them had ever seen any member of Team KNNG fight before. If the rumors surrounding the enigmatic team were to be believed, they usually trained somewhere off campus. Ruby Rose, on the other hand, was interested in the fight for another reason.

"Oh, I can't wait to see what his weapon is!" Ruby excitedly said. The young weapon fanatic had been eager to see what kind of arms other huntsmen possessed, and Team KNNG was no exception. She knew that the team's leader, Kalt Norden, carried a long sword that always remained in the sheath on his back, but she wanted to see their entire arsenal in action. In response to her childish behavior, Weiss, Ruby's partner, just rolled her eyes.

"Ruby, whatever his weapon maybe, it has to be small. It's also possible he may not have one at all," Weiss interjected.

"Pffft. Come on, Weiss," Ruby said while nudging her partner, "there's no way he doesn't have a weapon. Being a huntsman without a weapon is like having cookies with no milk." Before Weiss could retort, Blake decided to cut in.

"Well, it looks like we're about to find out," She calmly pointed out. Ruby and Weiss, along with their friends, returned their attention to the arena. Cardin and Noland were standing on opposite sides, facing each other down. As Cardin raised his mace, Noland reached down into the pockets of his cargo pants. Pulling his fists out, Ruby could see he was grasping onto something tightly. Unclenching his fists, Ruby could see the thick knuckle dusters as Noland slid them onto his hand.

"So he's a brawler, huh," Ruby's older sister, Yang said. "I could have guessed that even without him showing us those dusters."

Ruby didn't respond, as she was more preoccupied examining Noland's knuckle dusters as he prepared to face off against Cardin. They weren't mechanically complex like her Crescent Rose or fancy like Weiss' Myrtenaster, but she noticed how well they were kept. Noland obviously took time making sure they were well polished, she could tell by how the light reflected off of the dark bronze metal. Looking a little closer, she noticed small red crystals on each knuckle and smiled.

"Looks like he's packing some fire dust in those knuckles," Ruby said aloud. Unannounced to Ruby, her sister smirked.

"So what your saying is," Yang began, and the rest of her friends grimaced as they prepared themselves for one of Yang's puns, "he's really gonna light this match up!" While Yang smiled with pride at her clever pun, her teammates sighed as they returned their attention back to the arena.

* * *

" _Really, that's all this freak has. A pair of hand-me-down brass knuckles. Well, I guess that's all I should expect from faunus_ ," arrogantly thought Cardin. " _So what if he's a little bigger, that just means he's dumber and slower than the rest of his kind. I'll be wiping the floor with this worthless monkey in no time_."

As these thoughts continued to ooze out of Cardin's head, Noland kept giving him a deadly serious glare. Of course, Cardin only took it as a challenge and an extra reason to remind this faunus of his place in the world.

Finally, Professor Goodwitch spoke. "Alright gentlemen, since we only have so much time left, let's get this battle underway," she said as Noland and Cardin's pictures appeared on the screen above the arena along with their aura levels. Goodwitch then announced, "Begin."

Without hesitation, Cardin aggressively charged at Noland, who remained motionless. When Cardin came into striking distance, he swung his mace down towards Noland's head. Before the mace reached his scalp, Noland pushed off of his left foot and dodged the attack. As his mace seemingly plummeted through the air, Cardin's face showed no distress but retained his haughty smirk.

" _Ha, monkey boy fell for it_ ," Cardin thought as he swung his mace to the left, towards Noland's face once again. However, he was surprised when his quick swing did not land, as Noland had ducked under the blow. "What? Why you little," said Cardin said under his breath. After following through with his attack, he immediately attempted an angled backhand swing but was once again greeted by open air. He looked up and saw Noland moving away from his blow, and noticed a smirk appear on the faunus' face. Enraged, Cardin shouted in his head. "Are you looking down me!" He brought his mace over his head, gripping it with both hands and jumped forward. As he brought down his mace with his full strength, Noland stood his ground. Seeing this, Cardin's confident smile returned to his face."Got you NOW!" he yelled triumphantly.

 **BAM!**

The sound of the impact reverberated throughout the arena, causing many of the students to wince and cover their ears. While Cardin's strike had brought the power, his confidence immediately turned into shock. Noland stood before him, blocking his strike with his left hand, which was firmly holding onto his mace. Not wasting the opening, Noland launched his right fist into Cardin's stomach. As the air was driven out of his lungs by Noland's punch, Cardin gripped his stomach as he stumbled back. After regaining his breath, Cardin looked up to the screen and saw that he had lost 20 percent of his total aura. More importantly, he had let go of his mace when Noland punched him. Getting into his fighting stance again, Cardin raised his fists and prepared to take his weapon back. Then, he heard Noland chuckling to himself.

"What's a matter? Does baby want his rattle," Noland tauntingly asked. The students in the stands could hear Cardin's knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists in frustration. Then, to everyone's surprise, Noland lobbed Cardin's mace over to him, which he caught by the handle. Caught off guard by Noland's action, Cardin couldn't determine if the faunus was being overconfident or just plain stupid. However, that really didn't matter, because he was still going to bash Noland's head in for insulting him. Noland, on the other hand, wasn't finished infuriating his opponent.

He looked Cardin dead in the eye and said, "Come on, birdbrain, give me your best shot." After that, Cardin, his face twisting in anger and he activated the dust in his mace. As he let the charge build, Noland returned to his fighting stance, a look of furious excitement in his eyes.

"COME ON," Noland shouted. At that provocation, Cardin obliged and struck the arena floor with his fully charged mace, sending a cascading explosion in Noland's direction. The explosion engulfed Noland, and Cardin's arrogant smile returned to his face. Noland's aura would have had to have taken serious damage, and now he was going to finish the job. Charging through the rubble of the arena floor with his mace held high, Cardin shouted, "What do you think of that, monkey bo-." Before Cardin could finish his sentence, Noland shot out of the smoke and planted his fist into his mouth. As Cardin flew back from the punch, Noland launched himself above his opponent, flipped upside down, and kicked him back down to the floor. For the second time, the air rushed out of Cardin's lungs as he hit the ground hard, his aura flickering as it rapidly dropped to 30 percent. While Cardin was getting up, Noland flipped and land feet first a few meters away. Although he was battered and beaten, Cardin found the strength to stand up and face his opponent.

" _This can't be happening_ ," Cardin thought. " _I can't lose to this freak!_ " Cardin had planned to dominate Noland and show Beacon Academy that he was a force to be reckoned with. Now, with Noland beating him into the dirt, this fight only served to make him look like subpar trash.

Returning his attention towards Noland, Cardin saw that the dust on his right knuckle duster glowing faintly. Noland then extended his right index and middle fingers as energy began to rise off of them. Cardin didn't know what he was doing, and he didn't care. All that mattered was taking this faunus down, and he would do it with his bare hands if he had to. Letting his anger take over, he started to charge towards his opponent.

Seeing Cardin lunge at him with reckless abandon, Noland couldn't help but smirk. Swiftly, he brought his right arm over to his left shoulder and then swung his arm back over to his right. As Cardin took his next step, the space around him began to combust. Before the light and fire engulfed Cardin, Noland grinned with satisfaction as he saw Cardin's furious expression transform into one of terror.

 **KABOOM!**

The fiery explosion shook the room, deafening those closest to the arena. It was followed by the sound of stone cracking, as Cardin's singed form slammed into the wall. As he hit the ground, Cardin's aura finally shattered and the buzzer sounded.

* * *

"That… concludes the match." Glynda said, her shock evident in her tone. The surprise could be seen in the eyes of every student in the room, as they looked down upon the devastated battlefield. There were dents in the floor made by Cardin's mace, a smoking crater where Noland's explosion had erupted from, and a large crack had formed on the wall Cardin had crashed into. Regaining her usual composure, Glynda walked between her students as the battered Cardin began to lift himself off the ground.

"Mr. Winchester, did you pay attention to what I said Russel before your match?" she questioned with an air of authority. Cardin was leaning heavily on his mace for leverage but managed to look up slightly.

"Y-yes," he managed to force out.

"No, you didn't," Glynda retorted. "Like your teammate, you allowed your anger dictate your actions, giving Mr. Planter an ample amount of openings to attack you. Next time, choose your fights more wisely & control your emotions. The Grimm won't give you an opportunity for you to regain control." Cardin nodded and slowly began to limp towards the stairs.

"Also, I suggest you go to the infirmary before your next class," Glynda said to Cardin.

"Will do," he responded as he made his way up the stairs to his team. With that taken care of, she turned her attention towards Noland.

"Now, Mr. Planter, that was a good match," Glynda complimented. "However, next time, please refrain from taunting your opponent. It is unbecoming of a professional."

"Aww come on, that's half the fun." Noland retorted. Glynda gave the young huntsman a disapproving look, which sent a shiver up Noland's spine.

"Uh, I mean… Yes ma'am," Noland said whilst trying not to make eye contact with his professor. Before she could continue, the bell rang, and she sighed.

"Alright everyone you are dismissed, but remember that we will be focusing on team battles for the next two weeks. Be sure to get in some practice before next class, and I expect everyone to participate." Noland and the rest of his teammates felt that last part was directed at them. Professor Goodwitch was letting them know that there would be no excuses moving forward, and they would be participating. However, Noland didn't let that put a damper on his good mood and he rejoined his team as they exited the classroom.

"Hahaha, his face was priceless," said Gus while laughing. "He actually walked right into that explosion! What an idiot! Hahaha!"

"Well, Nappa, I'm surprised you held back at all against that oaf," Kalt said, trying to get a rise out of his underling. "You Saiyans always let your feral urges fuel your little squabbles." Kalt expected Noland to snap back at him but was surprised when he only heard the former Saiyan chuckle.

"What would be the fun in that," Noland responded with a wicked grin on his face. "Running his mouth with a power level like that? What an absolute joke! Nah, I just wanted to have some fun playing with that weakling before I put him in his place. Plus," his glare intensified, "I needed to make him pay for those insults."

"Nevertheless, we still gain nothing practical from participating in those fights," Nigel interjected.

"Ahh, give it a rest, ya clown," Noland responded. Irritated, Nigel gave him a look of contempt in response to his insult. "It's not like we can just sit on our butts anymore. That old bat is gonna be on our case now, so we might as well suck it up."

"As much as I hate to admit it, you have a point." Kalt begrudgingly agreed. As they neared their next class, Kalt turned around to face his subordinates. "While we cannot use our full power in Goodwitch's class, she's going to expect us to participate in those matches. However, that doesn't mean they are completely useless to us. So, let's think of it as less combat and more," Kalt said as his expression darkened, "an opportunity to dominate."

In response, Noland, as well as Nigel and Gus, grinned. They could definitely get behind that.

* * *

"I know Cardin probably had that coming, but that looked like it really hurt," said Jaune. While he had not forgotten the days when Cardin bullied him, or how he continued to treat the faunus students on campus, Jaune couldn't help but feel some concern for Cardin after he basically dragged himself out of the arena. As they left the classroom, he saw the rest of Team CRDL supporting their leader on their way to the infirmary due to Cardin's injuries. Nevertheless, he continued, "I'm actually surprised Professor Goodwitch didn't call the match."

"Yeah," began Yang, "but come on, Vomit Boy, you have to admit it was just a little satisfying seeing Cardin get his butt handed to him." Ignoring the use of his hated nickname, Jaune had to concede to that point, if only just a little.

"Cardin's aura only dropped into the red after Noland's explosion, so it was still fair game. Plus, that explosion was pretty epic" Yang finished just as Nora jumped in.

"Yeah! That was AWESOME," she excitedly spoke, "It was big and loud and there was fire everywhere! What didja think Ren?!" Ren sighed at his childhood friends hyper antics, and said, "Yes Nora, I thought his attack was impressive."

"Really, you all thought that was impressive? Honestly, I think his entire strategy was absolutely brutish." Weiss scoffed disapprovingly.

"Really, and Cardin's wasn't," questioned Blake, raising an eyebrow. This response offset Weiss a bit. She didn't want to insinuate that Noland's violent strategy was tied to his faunus heritage, and was worried Blake had taken her comment the wrong way.

"N-no," she stuttered, trying to get her words out, "Of course not." Blake noticed how her teammate was feeling and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry about that," she said and Weiss seemed to relax. "I'm just worried. Cardin's not gonna take this loss well, and I'm afraid of how he's going to react to it." While Blake hid her cat ears beneath her bow, other faunus at Beacon weren't able to hide their traits and suffered from Team CRDL's constant harassment. His devastating loss to Noland might cause him to up his cruelty, and she didn't want to think about how others would suffer.

"Well," began Ruby, "then we'll just have to help them however we can." The confidence shining in her silver eyes seemed put Blake at ease, for the moment. Then, she spotted the topic of their conversation conversing with the rest of his team. While not the best in social situations, Ruby decided it would be good to congratulate him on his win.

"Hey, Noland!" she called out. Noland turned his head, surprised and confused at who was calling his name. Ruby then waved to him, catching his and the rest of Team KNNG's attention, as they were perplexed at what she was doing. She walked over to them with her friends following behind, some of whom were relaxed while others were a bit apprehensive.

"That was a really great match in there," Ruby said in a friendly tone. Processing her praise, Noland's confusion gave way to a sense of pride and confidence at her adulation.

"Haha, thanks Red, but that was nothing," his pride evident in his voice. "If I had gone all out on that little bird, he'd be needing more than a trip to the nurses' office. Hahaha!"

"Oh really," Yang chimed in, a competitive flare in her eye. "Well, that sounds like a challenge to me, Big Guy. Maybe we could see if you can back that talk up, next class."

Noland conveyed some surprise at Yang's challenge but was not annoyed like he was with Cardin's. Instead, his eyes came alight with the same fire that was in Yang's as he pounded his right fist into the open palm of his left hand.

"Bring it on, Blondie. I'll be ready whenever you are. Just don't get your hopes up." Excitement seemed to spark between the two brawlers, eager to test their skills against one another. Ruby giggled at their interaction, while Weiss just rolled her eyes at the gung-ho muscleheads.

Worried his barbarian of an underling would actually start the match immediately, Kalt quickly tapped the back of Noland's head. At this provocation, Noland whirled around and growled at his partner.

"Hey! What gives," he said in an agitated voice. Kalt just gave him a small, condescending smile.

"Well, I can't have you going on a rampage right now, could I?" Noland growled at his partner some more, but finally relented and just crossed his arms in annoyance. Yang's laughter caught his attention as he turned towards her once more.

"Hahaha, don't worry about it, Big Guy, we'll find out who's stronger soon enough." She said with a smirk.

"While I hate to interrupt," Weiss said, "we should be heading to our next class." Ruby then checked the time on her scroll, recoiling a little.

"Oh no, we're going to be late," she said in surprise. "Sorry guys, but we gotta go. Maybe we can all meet up for lunch sometime?" While Team KNNG usually sat by themselves, this invitation intrigued them for some reason.

Kalt stepped forward and said, "We'll think about it. However, I do not believe we caught your name?"

"Oh," Ruby said realizing her error. Before they ran off to class, she should tell at least their names for the next time they meet up. "I'm Ruby, and this is my sister Yang."

"Been nice talking to you guys, but we gotta run!" Yang called out as her teammates raced down the hall. As the group rounded the corner, Gus decided to speak up.

"Sir, are you really going to think about joining them some time." Gus thought it was unlike his king to consider such a proposition from those he usually viewed as beneath him. Without looking at him, Cold gave his response.

"Excluding ourselves from our peers, both RWBY and JNPR possess the strongest power levels out of the entire crop of first-year students. It would be a waste to not start some correspondence with other strong warriors. Perhaps, they could even be of use to our goals." He then looked down towards Gus, a smile on his face but glowering look in his eyes. "Were you insinuating that I did not have a plan?" Gus shuddered in fear at the possibility of facing Kalt's wrath.

"N-N-NO Sir," he stammered out. "Of course you had that in mind. I apologize for questioning you, sir!

"Tcch, little brown noser," Noland said under his breath as he glared down at Gus. However, Gus still heard the insult and shot the former Saiyan an angry look from behind his green goggles.

"If you're all quite done, we must be on our way," Nigel spoke out, catching his teammates attention. Nigel was so quiet sometimes that Kalt, Noland, and Gus often forgot he was there. "We must not be late to Professor Peach's lecture, considering we have a test next week." Kalt then pulled out his scroll to check the time. They weren't far from the professor's classroom, and there was still plenty of time. He assumed Nigel just wanted to be done with this conversation, a feeling he sympathized with.

"Very well, Nigel. Let us be on our way." Kalt declared as he began his way down the hall, his underlings following behind him.

While Noland didn't let any of his teammates know, he actually did enjoy Professor Peach's botany course. Talking about the varieties of deadly flora that existed on Remnant excited him, as well as remind him of when he took care of his Saibamen back in his past life. It also made him reminisce about the farm he grew up on in this life. He had a feeling his Remnetian parents were getting ready for the autumn festival in Old Harbor right now, but he couldn't let these thoughts distract him. As a Saiyan warrior, he should push these feelings away and focus on the battle ahead. As he thought of his true goal, his reason to become stronger, his fist began to tighten and his Saiyan soul burned with anger.

" _Somehow, someday, I'm gonna make him pay for betraying me_!"

Kalt's cough brought Noland back to reality and he noticed they were at their destination. Opening the door, Noland saw that they were one of the first groups to arrive. Soon, a small woman wearing an ill-fitting lab coat and glasses noticed their arrival.

"Well, good to see you gentleman," Professor Peach greeted them. "Take a seat wherever you like, we're just about to begin." Noland, relaxed a bit, as his team took their seats at the front of the class, and waited for the lecture to begin.

* * *

Thank you for reading this! RWBY: Remnant Souls has been little idea I have had in the works for quite some time. However, I came up with so many ideas for teams, I couldn't immediately decide which one to use. So, I decided to start writing these vignettes to get a feel for how I would write each team and member to determine which one I will be writing about long term. If your thinking about subscribing to this story, I must warn you that the updates may be intermittent considering my current schedule. If you enjoyed it, feel free to leave a comment! If you have any questions in regards to this story, I would be happy to answer them. Until my next update, I wish you all well!

Next Time: Team KNNG [Gus]


	3. Team KNNG (Gus)

" _What's the matter, Vegeta. Can't get up?_ " While he already knew the answer to his question, he enjoyed taunting the defeated Saiyan. For years, he had been the butt of Vegeta's demeaning jokes. As a proud member of the Ginyu Force, he was leagues above this so-called prince! At least, that's what he thought before Vegeta blindsided on Namek. He could never forgive him for that humiliating defeat and swore to become stronger in order to defeat him. Now, he had the arrogant Saiyan right where he wanted him, suffocating under the weight of his psychic powers.

" _What you're feeling right now is only a fraction of my power, Vegeta! Don't think I'll let a weakling like you off lightly! You're going to pay for what you did to me, Vegeta! With your life!_ "

As he prepared to deliver the finishing blow, he decided to indulge himself with one last degrading question.

" _Any last words, Prince of All Saiyans?_ " Vegeta slowly moved his head off the ground and looked him in the eye. He wasn't expecting him to grovel, but it would be interesting what he would say with his final breath. Whatever he imagined, he certainly did not expect Vegeta to shout, "WAKE UP, GULDO!"

* * *

"GAAAH," yelled Gus as he woke. Quickly sitting upright in his bed, the shortest member of Team KNNG took a look around and found his partner, Nigel, standing next to his bed.

"Nigel, what the heck is going on?!" he asked in surprise. Suddenly, a dull pain ran across his left cheek, wincing as he brought his hand up to it in an attempt to soothe the pain. "Also, why does my jaw feel like it got hit by a truck?"

"Apparently," Nigel began, "you were punched harder than I initially calculated." When Gus looked at him with confusion, Nigel let out a sigh before he continued. "We were sparring in the Emerald Forest, and you challenged Nappa to fight." Bits and pieces started to come back to Gus; He remembered entering his new fighting pose as he squared off against Noland in Team KNNG's private training grounds. Gus was still sore about Noland's brown noser comment from the other day, and he wasn't about to let another Saiyan get one over him.

"Oh, yeah," Gus said despondently. Considering his current position, Gus could already guess how the fight had ended. Nevertheless, he was curious about how he had lost,

"So," Gus inquired, "what happened?"

"You were able to stay ahead of Nappa at the beginning of the battle, using your time stopping in short intervals. When he lunged at you when your back was against a rock, you dodged once again and he face-planted into it." Gus grinned when he heard that and let out a small chuckle.

"Yes, you thought it was amusing then as well. Unfortunately, your laughter canceled your time freeze. While you were still unaware of your error, Nappa swung around and landed a right hook. The hit was hard enough to launch you across the clearing, and you bisected a tree on the other side. Fortunately, your aura took the brunt of the damage, but you were unconscious when we located you. Nappa laughed for a minute and Cold instructed me to take you back here to recover."

Shock and dismay appeared on Gus' face as he slapped his forehead with his right hand.

"You gotta be kidding me," Gus grumbled.

"If you are trying to insinuate I have given you false data, I recorded the entire battle on your scouter," Nigel responded, handing his partner a pair of goggles with green lenses. Sliding them over his eyes, he clicked the playback button on the side. The recording began and he saw Noland strike him across the jaw. After he flew offscreen, the point of view turned right to witness a thin evergreen splinter and fall over. One thing was for sure, seeing his defeat play by play certainly didn't make him feel any better. Nigel then gave him a cordial pat on the shoulder, and he was slightly confused.

"Focusing on your errors would be insufficient use of your energies. Instead, focus on the data you have acquired from this fight and create new strategies and countermeasures for future skirmishes." Gus was a little taken aback by Nigel's words of encouragement but appreciated them nonetheless.

"Uh, thanks Nineteen," Gus said gratefully.

"No thanks is required, I only stated the facts," Nigel said robotically as he walked over to his desk and sat down at his computer. In stark contrast to Kalt and Noland bitter rivalry, Gus and Nigel were good friends. He and the former android had constantly been the weaker half of Team KNNG, even before Beacon. However, this helped these two grow closer as they trained to improve themselves. In fact, it was Nigel who built Gus' scouter from scratch as a birthday present.

However, Gus' thoughts turned back to his latest loss, and it made his blood boil. To constantly be beneath a Saiyan, especially Vegeta's lackey, was something he couldn't stand for. Although he and Noland shared a burning hatred for the Saiyan Prince, the brute looked down on him for being weaker than him. Deciding he had spent enough time recovering, Gus got off of his bed and went over to his chest of drawers. Opening the bottom shelf, Gus grabbed his olive green swim trunks and a spare towel.

"I'm going to head down to the pool," Gus said as made his way towards the door.

"Very well. I shall remain here." Nigel responded without looking up from his computer. Gus caught a glance of the schematics Nigel was looking over as he walked to the door. From what he could tell, Nigel was working on his prized pair of energy gauntlets, Garnet Leech. A small smile came across the short huntsman's face, impressed at his partner's intelligence.

"Good luck with your gloves," Gus said in encouragement.

"I would rather acquire good data," Nigel responded. "However, I appreciate the sentiment." Gus rolled his eyes at Nigel's response and exited the room.

* * *

After putting on his trunks, Gus made his way out of the locker room. He looked out at the pool, and saw it was completely vacant. A feeling of relief washed over him as he placed his towel and scroll on a bench.

"Looks like I've got the place all to myself, as usual," he thought.

Gus appreciated the fact that his peers rarely used the pool, as the silent atmosphere helped him focus on his training.

"Heh," he thought aloud, "I never thought I'd see the day when I would actually have to work to get stronger." While the concept of training had been something introduced to him after his rebirth, it was not the first time he had been offered something similar.

He remembered the suggestion to join his comrades in the Ginyu Forces' Fitness Club. Instead, he foolishly went on an all chili burger diet, costing him the stamina he desperately needed against Vegeta and the Earthlings. Gus had made a concentrated effort to stay in shape this time around, but his loss to Noland reminded him how his constant carelessness landed him in trouble.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Gus hopped into the pool's first lane, the cold water coming up to his shoulders. As he adjusted to the temperature, he began to swim out towards the deep end. When he arrived in the middle of the lane, he placed his hand on his scouter. After pressing a few buttons, a digital timer appeared in the corner of the left lens.

"Last time I lasted 3 minutes and 30 seconds," Gus said. " Let's see if I can add one more minute to that number." Setting the time on his scouter, Gus took a long, deep breath and plunged underneath the water. While this would usually activate his Time Stop ability, Gus found that he could stop the freeze if he didn't concentrate on it. He began to feel pressure slowly building in his chest as his lungs held the oxygen he just inhaled. The seconds seemed to pass by slowly as the pressure in Gus' chest began to build up.

" _Come on, come on, I can do this. I'm a member of the Ginyu Force, the strongest soldiers in the universe! Holding my breath shouldn't be a problem!_ " While this thought boosted his confidence, it also served as a depressing reminder. As far as Gus knew, he was the only one of his comrades that escaped from Hell. He still wasn't sure exactly how or why, but the thought of Recoome, Jeice, Burter, and his Captain no longer being by his side hurt. He checked the time if only to distract him from his current train of thought.

" _Okay, two minutes and fifty seconds. Gotta stay focused._ " As Gus continued to endure the pain, he resisted the urge to check the timer again. He turned his attention to the sounds of the water gurgling in his eardrums and the cool sensation surrounding his body. The serene atmosphere did not last though, as he heard the muffled sound of footsteps and voices echoed through the water.

" _Well, so much for peace and quiet._ " He would have sighed, but thankfully he remembered before he let his breath out. Just then, a beeping noise reverberated through the water. Gus opened his eyes and a sense of personal satisfaction plume in his chest when he saw the timer at four minutes and thirty seconds. Excited by his accomplishment, Gus quickly propelled himself upward towards the surface of the water. Upon breaking through, Gus took in a deep breath and smiled.

"Oh yeah," he exclaimed, "that's what I'm talking abo-"

 **SMACK**

Before Gus could finish congratulating himself, a volleyball struck him dead between his eyes.

"GAAAH, MY FACE!" As he held his profile his hands in an attempt to soothe the stinging, he heard someone let out a surprised shout, followed by the clattering footsteps.

 **[Earlier]**

"This is ridiculous. How did I ever let you all talk me into this?" Weiss asked her teammates as they made their way out of the locker room in their black and gold school swimsuits. Weiss' grumpy attitude was offset by Ruby's utterly jubilant behavior. She had planned a plethora of activities for Team RWBY's pool day, including water polo match. Despite her excitement, Ruby knew Weiss was dreading this activity. She had been made keenly aware that the heiress considered contact sports to be overly macho and uncouth. However, Weiss was once again outvoted by her teammates, and now she would have to participate.

"Aw, come on, Ice Queen. This is gonna be fun, or are you just afraid to get a little wet and wild," Yang said, teasing the heiress with her usual sunny smile. The blonde brawler was carrying the two inflatable goals they would be using for the polo match. Blake was standing next to her sisters deep in thought. Part of her wanted to take off her bow but felt unease at the thought of leaving her Faunus ears exposed. Ruby, herself, was happily tossing the volleyball between her hands.

"Don't worry, Weiss," Ruby cheerily said. "This is going to be great, and it'll be even better when we win!"

"Hang on there," Yang said, wagging her finger. "Who says your going to win, little sister? If you ask me, Blake and I are for sure going to win these games hands down."

"Oh yeah?! Bring it on," Ruby exclaimed, a competitive fire in her eyes. As the sparks flew between the two sisters, Weiss rolled her eyes at the immaturity of her teammates while Blake smiled a bit at the amusing scene.

After some friendly banter, with a few puns thrown in for good measure, the sisters began giggling at their own antics and then returned their attention to the rest of their friends.

"Attention Team RWBY," Ruby excitedly announced. "We're here today to do two things. Number one, become better teammates! Number two, have fun while doing it! Whose with me!" As Ruby pumped her fist in the air to finish her exclamation, Yang gave her a thumbs up while Blake let out a reserved cheer. Weiss plainly said, "If you insist."

"That's what I like to hear," Ruby said, turning towards the pool. "Then I declare Team RWBY's Awesome Pool Training Day Spectacular..." Before she finished, Ruby tossed the volleyball into the air. As it began to descend, Ruby jumped into the air and brought her fist back to spike the ball. Launching her arm forward, her fist struck it dead center.

"... officially OPEN," Ruby exclaimed as the ball flew towards the other side of the pool. As she and her team let out another cheer, they a green haired boy break through the surface.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking abo-," he began to exclaim, before the volleyball nailed him right in the face.

Team RWBY's cheering immediately stopped as an audible smack echoed across the room. As the boy's head arched back from the impact, Blake cupped her hands over her mouth, Yang's smile vanished, Weiss' eyes grew in shock, and Ruby's smiling visage morphed into one of mortification.

"GAAAH, MY FACE," the boy painfully exclaimed as he clutched his now red mug.

"OH MY GOSH," Ruby shouted as she took off towards the other side of the pool, with her teammates hot on her heels.

"I'M SO SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!" Ruby apologized profusely. Of course, Weiss, Blake, and Yang were concerned about the boy's well being, but they were also worried about how their leader was reacting to this little accident. When they reached the boy's location, he was leaning on the edge of the pool with one hand still clutching his face.

"Gah, Owww" he painfully groaned. "What the heck was that?!"

"I'm so sorry! I hit the ball and-and I didn't see you! Are you okay?" Ruby asked in concern. The boy unclutched his face and looked up at them. He looked quite incensed at first as if he was about to tell Ruby off for hitting him. However, the fierce words he had prepared to spew out died in his throat when he saw Ruby's worried expression. Composing himself, he responded to Ruby's query.

"Uh...yeah, I'm alright. It just stings a little. Don't worry about it." His face was still pretty red, so Team RWBY was fairly sure if he wasn't telling the truth.

"You sure, tough guy," Yang asked. "That sounded like a pretty nasty hit."

"Well, it's not the worst one my face has taken today," he said while pulling himself out of the water. As he stood up, Team RWBY noticed that he was fairly short, appearing to be only a head above Weiss. He had some definition to his figure but was not overly muscular. He tentatively touched his right cheek, and a look of slight frustration appeared.

"Just like Noland to sucker punch me like that." Realizing he was thinking aloud, he became visibly embarrassed. However, Ruby's eyes lit up as she recognized her unexpected victim.

"Wait, I know you. You're on Team KNNG, right?" The boy seemed surprised that Ruby recognized him, but didn't appear displeased by this.

"Y-yeah, I am." With his identity partially confirmed, Weiss, Blake, and Yang were able to recall the boy being present during their first encounter with Team KNNG after Noland's match with Cardin Winchester. However, Noland and Kalt were the only two they knew by name.

"Great, I thought I recognized you," Ruby said, her perkiness returning. "So, what's your name?"

"Hmm. OH, sorry," he said as he began scratching the back of his head. " I'm Gus. Gus Verdant."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Gus." Ruby then gave him a little salute before introducing herself. "I'm Ruby and these are my friends."

"Weiss Schnee," said the heiress in a formal manner.

"I'm Blake, and I'm sorry about the ball," the dark-haired faunus responded.

"I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister. Nice to meet ya" the blonde boxer cheerily introduced herself.

"It's n-nice to meet all of y-you too." Gus wasn't used to talking in front of large groups, that was more of Kalt's forte. Although four people did not exactly constitute a huge party, Gus was still nervous in social situations. Nevertheless, this was another hurdle for him to overcome, and he was at least going to try.

"So, uh, if you don't mind me asking, what are you guys doing down here? Not many other people use the pool?"

"Oh" Ruby began, "we're going to have a team building day. We were about to start when I spiked the ball. Sorry about that, again. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna be alright. Aura, you know." Gus could feel the stinging fade away as his aura took over. Unlike Noland, Gus appreciated the protective power his aura provided and welcomed it wholeheartedly. He would have activated it to protect him from Ruby's volleyball, but he wasn't exactly expecting it when he surfaced.

"That's good to hear," Ruby said in relief.

"What exactly were you doing anyway," Weiss bluntly asked. Gus appeared to be surprised by Weiss' forwardness, but let it slide.

"Uh, I was just getting in some training with my semblance. The longer I can hold my breath, the more I can use it." Gus explained.

"That's rather interesting" commented the heiress, her curiosity piqued. "What exactly is your semblance?"

"Hey, I can't tell you that," Gus said in a sudden cheeky tone. Weiss was somewhat vexed by his refusal.

"What, why not?" she asked.

"It'd ruin the surprise if I told you now and we fought later," he said as he shrugged. As Weiss let out a little huff, Gus started to nervously scratch the back of his head again.

"Well, I think I'm gonna head back up," he said

Ruby was a bit surprised by his sudden desire to leave.

"Really? You don't have to go. There's enough pool for all of us,"

"It's okay," he said. "I already finished what I needed to do." Ruby wasn't sure if Gus was worried about possibly getting in their way, but it was obvious he was feeling awkward about something. She still felt bad about the accident & wanted to make it up to him.

"Well, it was nice meeting you. Hope you have a good day." Gus then turned toward the pools exit, but before he could even take a step Ruby piped up.

"Wait," she called out, catching his attention. Gus, as well as Ruby's teammates, were perplexed as to what Ruby was up to.

"How about you join us? It'll be fun!"

* * *

" _What Did She Just Say?!_ " he thought.

Though Gus was more than happy to cut his training short to get out of this embarrassing situation, Ruby's offer caught him off guard. Ruby's own teammates were equally stumped by their leader's invitation. Before he could respond, Weiss zipped over to her leader and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"I'm sorry, but could you give us a minute," she politely asked, jerking Ruby into an impromptu huddle with the rest of her teammates. Taking a moment to think, Gus went over to his bench and picked up his scroll. As he was dialing Nigel's number, Team RWBY began discussing the matter at hand.

"What do you think you're doing, you dunce!" Weiss asked in a hushed tone.

"I just thought it he would have fun if he joined us. What's the big deal," Ruby asked.

"The big deal is we barely know him, & you just invited him to play a contact sport with us! Secondly, boys mixing with girls in contact sports is incredibly inappropriate." Yang let out an amused snort at Weiss words.

"Really Ice Queen?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've seen you spar with plenty of the guys in Goodwitch's class, and you didn't seem so hot under the collar then." Weiss flushed at Yang's statement.

"That's an entirely different situation and you know it," she whispered indignantly as Yang snickered. However this presented Ruby with a problem. In order to include Gus in the game, she knew she would have to rethink her plan to appease her team.

"Okay," she said as she thought, "but what if he was only the goalie?," Ruby replied. Weiss gave her proposal some thought for a moment, but at last said, "I suppose that can work."

"Ruby," Yang began, trying to be encouraging, "I think it's great that your trying to branch out, but we still have one little problem." Ruby gave her a perplexed look. She didn't think Yang would have many reservations about the issue, but that isn't necessarily what she had in mind.

"What's that," Ruby asked.

"Including him, there would be five of us. Not exactly fair numbers," Blake answered. Ruby realized Blake was right. They couldn't have a team of three go up against a team of two. She didn't want to have to rescind her invitation to Gus, but she was having difficulty coming up with a solution. Removing herself the huddle, Ruby turned her attention to Gus and saw that he was calling someone on his scroll. An idea suddenly popped into her head, and she flashed a radiant smile at her teammates as she turned back to them.

"No problem! I've got another idea." Before Weiss could oppose, Ruby walked over to Gus.

"Sorry about that, Gus. I didn't mean to surprise you. Is everything okay?"

"Wha- Oh, yeah! Everything's good!" Gus nervously answered.

"Great, so do you want to join us? You could be the goalie," she asked, unconsciously using her puppy dog eyes.

"I-it sounds like a fun, but I don't know. If I joined in, wouldn't the teams be uneven," he said, trying to make a half-hearted excuse.

"Actually, I had a thought about that," she said excitedly. "Why don't you invite your teammate's to join us, then the teams would be even."

At her suggestion, a wave of uncertainty came over Gus. 'Yeah, that would work, except for the fact that Cold, Nineteen, and Nappa would never agree to this. Wait, I can just say that their still off training or something, and then I can get out of here.' Before he could put his plan into motion, the person Gus was calling spoke up.

"Intriguing, I will be down momentarily," answered Nigel.

' _Noooo! Nineteen, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!_ ' Gus silently screamed in his head.

"Who said that?" asked Ruby.

"Apologies, Ruby, I didn't mean to alarm you," came Nigel's voice from Gus' scroll. "I'm Nigel, Gus' partner. Regrettably, both Kalt and Noland are unavailable at the moment, but Gus and I would be interested in partaking in your game."

"That's awesome!" she cheered. "I'll go tell the others! This is going to be so much fun!"

Before Gus could protest, the red reaper was already telling Weiss, Blake, and Yang the good news. Turning back to his scroll, he cupped one hand over his mouth before talking to Nigel.

"Nigel, what are you doing?! You were supposed to help me get out of this, not sign me up against my will! Why do you even want to play?! I thought you were busy with your gloves."

"I have found an acceptable stopping place for today. Besides, this is a chance to network and observe," Nigel cooley responded, catching Gus off guard.

"What?"

"Though completely by accident, you have given us an interesting opportunity," Nigel began to explain. "One, we have a chance to connect with one of the more promising first-year teams. Two, we will be able to learn more about Team RWBY's capabilities and limitations."

"Nigel, it's water polo, not a death match," Gus responded deadpan. Nigel stayed silent for a moment as he thought of a way to convince his comrade.

"Think about it this way, Cold has had his eye on Team RWBY & JNPR since Nappa's match. If we obtain some useful information, I assume Cold would be pleased with our efforts." Gus gave Nigel's words some thought. He would be doing his King a great service by beginning a rapport between Teams RWBY and KNNG. Gus began to smile as he imagined the praise he would receive.

"Well, when your right, your right Nigel. How soon till you get here."

"I will arrive in about 7 minutes. I will see you then." As Nigel hung up, Gus placed his scroll back onto the bench and walked over to Ruby and her friends.

* * *

Hey everyone, I am glad you checked out the second chapter! I'd like to say I am sorry for the time it took me to finish this one, but my schedule got a little hectic. Between going to a retreat, accepting a new job, and moving, I have had little time to focus on my writing. Thankfully, things have settled down once again, and I plan to be more proactive with my off time to focus more on writing.

Also, to all of you who guessed Gus was Ginyu, you were so close! Since I've started Remnant Souls, I've developed a fondness for the little green goober, especially in terms of his relationship with his partner, Android 19 aka Nigel. Both are short and stout minions who just so happened to meet similar deaths; Being decapitated by Vegeta.

While the pool day theme may be a bit ridiculous scenario, it was honestly just an excuse to bean Gus in the face with a volleyball. I thought up the scene while I was figuring out the plot for this chapter when that particular scene jumped into my head and decided to just roll with it. However, the chapter got a little longer than I initially expected, so I decided to split it between Gus and Nigel. The next chapter will conclude this little outing between Gus, Nigel, and Team RWBY. I hope you guys come and check it out.

Next Time: Team KNNG [Nigel]


End file.
